Country’s diversity, multi-culturism need to be preserved: PM

Noting that the country’s diversity and multi-culturism have been nurtured through centuries, PM Manmohan Singh has said it is a major challenge to preserve them by pursuing the rich legacy of tolerance and brotherhood.

“It is a major challenge for all of us and especially for our intellectuals to ensure that the richness of our diversity and our multi-culturism are preserved and nourished,” he said.

Speaking at a function organised by Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) in New Delhi on Wednesday, Singh said it is the special responsibility of thinkers, intellectuals and philosophers to contribute to the rich legacy of tolerance and brotherhood that the country inherited.

Observing that the country was characterised by enormous diversity, multitude of languages and religions, the Prime Minister said, “We need to preserve this essential unity, this Indianness that has been strengthened and enriched by the various strands of thought that constitute the great Indian philosophical tradition”.

Describing philosophy as mother of all languages, the Prime Minister said it should be pursued not merely as a separate discipline like economics or political science but as a trans-disciplinary subject taught alone with other subjects.

“Again philosophy of law, education, history, politics and science need to be studied for consummate and all round preparation for our students enrolled in those respective fields,” he said while expressing hope that ICPR will encourage efforts in that direction.